


The White Fox

by SpitfireUSN



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: (maybe more than one wink wink), Asexual Character, Caduceus’ backstory and quest!, Drugging, Druid Stuff, Gen, Recovery, The recovery might happen faster than I wanted but that’s fine too, Torture, Trans Fjord (Critical Role), Wisdom and meditation, and, and all the warnings associated with them, but all that’s pre-story, for the sake of narrative, instead how about, maybe some subtle hints to, playing fast and loose with DnD mechanics, slavers - Freeform, the usual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:21:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26438626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpitfireUSN/pseuds/SpitfireUSN
Summary: The Nein are investigating a rumor of slave trade happening in Xourhas. What they don’t expect to see is a white fox limping out of the underbrush along the road, only to collapse halfway across. They’re even more surprised when the form changes into a humanoid shape, with an iron bolt piercing one leg.Or: the Mighty Nien find an Arctic Fox in Xourhas. Oh wait that’s a human person; what’s he doing here?Set sometime after Fjord becoming a paladin but before Caduceus gets to The Menagerie and the Clay Fam Reunion(EDIT; I figured out the timeline. Begins after the downtime in Xourhas, before they head for Kamorrdah. I’m definitely futzing with the timeline to make this work.)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Ever perceptive, Caduceus, of course, noticed when the brush started moving and shifting as something moved through it. He pulled his horse to a stop and signaled the others to do the same. There was no telling what it could be in the wastes of Xourhas. 

Of all the things he was expecting to see, a white furred fox was least among them. It’s head low, breathing heavy, movements weighted by something he couldn’t see. Until it cleared the meager plant life and he saw the right hind leg hanging limp, white fur matted red with blood. 

It paused for a second in the middle of the road as Caduceus dismounted, but it didn’t seem to have noticed them before it collapsed. 

Caduceus hurried over to it, as a few of the party wondered what an arctic fox was doing out here. The form changed as Caduceus knelt, one hand out with a Cure Wounds at his fingertips. The spell failed as Caduceus paused in shock as the form became human, and suddenly he could see what had done this to him. 

There was a long, heavy iron bolt through the thigh of his right leg. 

“Oh… that’s-that’s not good, let’s, yeah we’re gonna have to do something about that..” he commented through the shock, carefully turning the human onto his side and casting Spare the Dying, “Yeah that’s gonna have to come out.”

Fjord knelt beside him as he was joined by the rest of the Nien. 

He whistled low and Caduceus followed his eyes to the head of the bolt. It was clawed similarly to a grappling hook, and at the end where the fletching should have been there was a broken chain attached to it. 

“This…” Fjord’s fingers hovered over the clawed head of the bolt, “this was meant to  _ cripple. _ There’s no pulling this out without causing a whole lot more damage.”

He heard a gasp from Jester as she pushed through the rest of the Nien to get a look. 

Caduceus nodded slowly and rolled the human onto his back, careful to keep the injured leg steady. 

“Is there anything anyone can do to make this easier? Can we break it somehow?” Caduceus asked, looking up at the group. 

Caleb frowned and pulled his spell book out, shaking his head as he flipped through the pages, “I can turn this into wood if it is iron, which I am pretty sure it is…”

“I still have some acid,” Nott offered, holding up the small vial, “I could melt the head off.” She hummed looking between the acid and the bolt, “I don’t know that it’d be enough though, and this stuff’s hard to make… plus it could drip onto him and that would.. not be good.”

Fjord’s eyes narrowed and he rifled through his pack for a moment, the others watching curiously as he produced a metal file, “I still have this old thing, dunno why I never got rid of it, but… Caleb, you could turn it to wood and we break the head off, and then file it smooth, so no pieces get left behind in the wound when we pull it out.”

Caleb nodded and turned to discuss something with Nott.

“Someone  _ did  _ this to him,” Yasha pointed out solemnly as Caleb and Fjord discussed their options, “I doubt they would expect him to get far. They will be looking for him.”

“Yasha’s got a point. Y’all take care of…  _ that,” _ Beau gestured at the unconscious human as the others turned to acknowledge her, “Yasha and I will keep watch.”

Caduceus nodded and turned to Jester, who was kneeling by the man’s head, “Jester, switch with me, you’re stronger than I am, you pull the bolt out when Fjord finishes, and I’ll get ready to heal.”

Jester nodded quickly, “Okay! Okay, yeah, I’m gonna do that.” She shifted to take Caduceus’ place as he moved back and took a place at the head. 

Caduceus propped him carefully in his lap. His clothes hung from boney shoulders and hips in tattered rags. There were dark bruises and bright scuff marks and irritations on his neck and wrists, standing out in stark contrast to his unhealthily pale skin. There were scars there, buried under the fresher marks, scabs and wounds from whatever had been there pulling too harshly or being fastened too tightly. He could see more bruises and scars and wounds of all sorts through the tears in his clothes. 

All-in-all, it was easy to tell  _ who  _ had done this to him, but that was a problem for later. Now, Caleb was casting his spell and Nott and Jester were holding the leg and bolt steady while Fjord prepared to file the danger away and Caduceus prepared to pour as much healing as he could into the frail body in his lap.

It was a point of concern that their charge did not react to the shifting of the bolt as Fjord began whittling it down. It was another altogether that, when the bolt was finally pulled free, blood did not pour from the wound, only trickled. Still, Caduceus extended his magic to the body below him and searched out the worst aches and pains to heal first. Gently soothing and softly mending torn flesh and muscle and bone and sinew. 

The human groaned as he came to. His eyes squeezed tightly closed before slowly blinking open. Instantly Caduceus was struck by the strangeness of the eyes. Even through a hazy fog that seemed to cloud them, one was a deep crystalline blue, and the other was a bright burning gold. 

Caduceus was about to speak a soft greeting when he heard a shout from the thick woods this human had pulled himself from. It was a language he did not recognize, but the body below him tensed and the eyes widened with unmistakable fear as he shot upright. 

The way he moved, Caduceus thought he was expecting to still be a fox. Then he heard a distressed whimper from him as he backed away, eyes darting around the people crowded around him. 

“Hey, hey, calm down, it’s alright,” Fjord spoke first, voice soothing, “We’re not gonna hurt you.”

“We got company,” Beau growled and Caduceus turned to see some rather rough looking folk force their way out of the brambles. 

There was an orc, two drow, and a couple of goblins. 

“And we’re not gonna let  _ them  _ hurt you anymore either,” Fjord’s voice turned hard as he turned away from the human to face the slavers. 

The others shouted their agreements, Jester throwing her usual colorful insults. 

The human stumbled back a few more steps, wincing as he put weight on his previously injured leg, clearly expecting it to still hurt. 

He looked down at it when it didn’t, and up at the people he’d woken up to, eyes flitting between each of them before landing on Caduceus, the only one still facing him. His head wasn’t moving, but as Caduceus studied his eyes, they were darting, slowly and sluggishly focusing on things that weren’t there. He took another trembling step back, focusing on things beyond Caduceus or his friends or the slavers they were now fighting. 

The human’s breath halted at the sounds of battle and he froze, panic filling his eyes. 

Caduceus saw the moment he decided he could not run or fight and so was doomed to whatever fate awaited him in chains, and cast Calm Emotions over him before he could fall to the panic, “It’s okay,” he spoke firmly with the same soothing tone he had used when speaking to the mourners who would come to the Grove, “We’ll protect you.” 

Once he was sure the words had sunken in, Caduceus cast Spiritual Guardians, letting the iridescent beetles swarm, gentle for now. Caduceus was fairly sure he’d heard a shocked gasp from him as he watched the insects. He held out a hand in the midst of them, some landed there and left, others ignored it, some decided to explore the strange human that was now smiling softly at them, seeming to have forgotten his fear and panic in their presence. 

“I-I know this magic,” he breathed, his voice was soft, halting and unused, and he looked up at Caduceus, hope in his eyes, “Wildmother…”

The haze in his eyes was still there, and he still seemed to have trouble focusing on him. 

Caduceus smiled, “These guardians will keep us safe if any of them make it past my friends.” He said with confidence, finally turning to see how the Nein were faring. 

Fjord was slicing through a net that had been thrown over him. Beau had the orc in a headlock as she wailed on him. Caleb and Nott were dealing with the drow mages, and Jester and Yasha were chasing down the goblins. None of them appeared to have been injured yet and he turned back to his charge to see that the human was sitting down, arm out as he admired the spectral insects. 

Caduceus noticed as he observed him, that his breathing was labored and he was sweating and shaking. Something else was  _ wrong  _ with him. The haze, the lack of focus, all of it added up quickly and Caduceus sat calmly across from him, slowly reaching out for his hand, but giving him the option to not take it. 

“I believe there is more healing I can do for you,” He offered aloud when the human hesitated, “Something is clouding your head I think.”

Slowly, cautiously, the human placed his hand in Caduceus’ as the sounds of battle faded. 

Caduceus reached out once more with restoration in mind and sought the source of the fog and confusion. He found it in his head, covering his mind like a heavy shroud. Caduceus reached for it with his magic and the restoration magic he pushed into it burned it away with a cool radiant light. 

When Caduceus opened his eyes he saw the human had his eyes closed as well. Caduceus released his hand and he drew it back, grimacing as he rubbed his eyes. His eyes opened and Caduceus saw the haze had lifted, before a horror dawned on him and his face fell. 

He lowered his head with a regretful expression, “Thank you. I… do not deserve your kindness.”

“Everyone deserves kindness,” Caduceus replied and heard his friends approaching. 

“So,” Caleb sat down beside Caduceus, “Who are you? And why were they so determined to take you back?”

“I…” he hesitated in his answer, “My name is Kitori Fox, d-“ he paused with a pained expression, “I was a Druid of the Land before they took me.”

“What do you mean ‘was’?” Fjord asked, standing casually on Caduceus’ other side, “I mean I’ve only met a few druids but I was under the impression that it was kind of a ‘once a Druid always a Druid’ kind of thing?”

Kit shrugged, “I… Where I’m from humans just  _ aren’t  _ born with magic. But I was. And now it’s gone.” He reached forward and placed his hand on the dirt in front of him, “I can’t feel it anymore… they broke my connection with the natural land and the Wildmother…”

Caduceus hummed thoughtfully, “I don't think Melora would allow her connection to someone to be forcefully broken like that.”

Kit’s face was shadowed by shame, “No, that’s not… I,” he swallowed thickly, “they made me do things. They made  _ me  _ break it. I was sworn to protect and preserve the natural land and the spirit of it… they made me destroy both. Drugged me so that I wouldn’t know I was doing it, so that I wouldn’t fight them, wouldn’t fight anyone they didn’t  _ want  _ me to fight.”

He was rubbing at his wrists now and a silence hung over their group. 

Caleb sighed and moved to sit next to him as he dug through his bag. 

He pulled out a roll of clean bandages and held them out, “I know what it is like to be…  _ bothered  _ by your scars. I know what it is like to be  _ tricked _ into doing something willingly, when you never would have done it otherwise.”

“I’m still pretty new to this whole religion thing,” Fjord spoke softly, sitting down where he stood, “But so far… Melora seems like a pretty understanding person. I don’t think she would have just..  _ abandoned  _ you for whatever happened.”

Caduceus nodded, “I agree and even if your connection to Her  _ has  _ been broken, I think you could reforge your connection.”

“Yeah, this is a great pep talk and all, but seriously, why were they so determined to get you back? We’re not gonna let ‘em take you, but I for one would like to know if we’re expecting more company.”

Kit sighed, “Most likely… my….  _ owner  _ doesn’t like to let…  _ things  _ go..”

“You’re not a  _ thing!”  _ Jester argued shrilly, “You don’t  _ belong  _ to anyone any more than any of us!”

Kit gave a sad smile and took the bandages Caleb was still offering, “My scars would say otherwise…” he slowly and carefully wrapped the scars on his wrists and hesitated at his neck, “I… might need some help with this…”

Yasha sat down next to him with a soft smile and put a hand out, offering her assistance without a word. Kit placed the roll in her hand. 

“You were a fox before you collapsed,” Caduceus pointed out, “I don’t think you’ve lost whatever magic you had. I don’t know why you can’t connect to it, but I have a feeling that  _ you’re  _ the one blocking it.”

“Except that I’ve defined myself by my magic, I’d never give it up,” Kit frowned. 

“You clearly feel shamed by your actions,” Caleb pointed out, “Maybe it is your subconscious way of punishing yourself.”

“I… don’t know. I guess that makes sense…”

“How did you end up with them anyway, if you don’t mind me asking?” Fjord asked with a curious tilt of his head.

“I was part of a semi-nomadic tribe of druids in the Savalir Wood, they took me in after my human parents abandoned me to the Wastes. They taught me about my magic and the Wildmother; told me that she’d blessed my birth. I grew older with them. Found myself under the wing of a woman I call Mother. But something was missing, I still felt…  _ lost _ or confused or  _ something _ , I felt a draw to search for answers. So I talked to the elder of my tribe and they set me on a path to a forbidden area of the Wood. We never traveled there, because it seemed that the land was cursed, but the curse never seemed to spread outward, so we never traveled there. They sent me there, and said that there was a rumor of an old temple to the Wildmother at the heart, if it hadn’t been taken by the curse as well. Said that if I was looking for answers, that the Grove would be the best place to start.” Kit sighed, “I made it to the outskirts of the cursed land before I was captured. I had stopped to meditate, and was having a wonderful discussion with the land, so I never heard them sneaking up on me.”

Caduceus blinked and straightened and the Nein looked at him expectantly. Kit noticed. 

“What?”

“Your elder sent you to a Grove in the Savalir Wood?” Caduceus asked curiously. 

Kit nodded, “Yes. They said it went by many names, but in the beginning it was called the Blooming Grove, home to the Family of Clay. Why? Do you know it?”

Caduceus grinned, “My name is Caduceus Clay. I was born there. I was it’s caretaker before I left to find a way to break the curse before it takes my home.”

“So the Grove lives…” Kit breathed and was silent for a long moment as Yasha finished wrapping the scars on his neck. 

“For the moment,” Caduceus nodded, “The quest to fix it is long still.”

Kit was broken from his stupor by the screech of a falcon and he shot to his feet, eyes searching the sky. 

“Trouble?” Fjord asked, standing and summoning his sword. 

Kit spared him a glance, “No.” he smiled and whistled to the sky, “Ont-Enu!” He called in Druidic and held out an arm as a landing perch. 

A falcon swooped down and landed on the humans arm and they pressed their foreheads together, Kit smiling. 

“Mother, it is good to see you.” Kit said as he straightened. 

“You Mother is a falcon?” Beau asked plainly without standing up. 

Kit looked back at her, “I was a fox when you first saw me.”

“That’s fair,” she shrugged. 

“The falcon is her preferred Shape as the fox is mine,” Kit explained and turned back to the falcon and spoke in a different language that none of them recognized. 

“How about I make some tea,” Caduceus offered, already pulling out the set. 

The falcon flew off after a few minutes of Kit speaking to it and Kit sat down to join them with a sigh. 

“You seem unhappy,” Caduceus commented, holding a cup of tea out for him to take, “This should help with the aches and pains that I couldn’t heal.”

“Thank you,” Kit sipped it slowly, “I did not explain things, only that I was taken… telling her everything about what happened will be difficult to do without my Shape…”

“Why will it be more difficult? You seemed to speak to her just fine a moment ago,” Caleb wondered.

“Because my Shape is comfortable, it makes…  _ things  _ easier. I do not know how to explain it…” Kit paused seeming to look for words, “It is like… an  _ itch,  _ like a tingling under my skin, a sense that something is  _ missing  _ or  _ wrong  _ with my body, and that feeling is only gone in my Shape. The discussion I need to have with Mother would be easier without the itch.”

“I think I know that feeling actually,” Fjord commented with a nod, “The ‘something wrong’ part, at least.”

Kit nodded to Fjord and sipped his tea, “In my tribe we are given our second name for the first Shape we take. Mine was Fox, Mother’s was Falcon. There is a Bear, a Wolf, a Lynx. Elder’s was Deer. Our first Shapes are instinctive, there is usually a sort of ceremony for new Druids to take their first shapes, but they found me in mine. Our shapes show a bit of how we connect to the land. Falcon connects with the air and the spirit of the freedom that comes with flight. I connect with the trees and the wild and unpredictable spirit of the forest.”

“How is a forest unpredictable?” Jester asked, “It’s just  _ trees _ .”

Kit smiled at her, “I miss my magic more and more every moment. If I had it I could show you.”

“And how does a fox connect you to the trees?” Yasha wondered.

“Through the roots that protect its den. Through the fallen logs it dances around in pursuit of…  _ fun _ , happiness _ ,  _ food, anything really. Through the ages old stump of a great old oak that it lays upon to bask in the sun filtering through the leaves.”

“You didn’t answer my question!” Jester complained.

“Can you predict when the leaf will fall to a strong breeze? Or when the rot will finally break the trunk of the elm through the weight of its branches?” Kit replied, “Which bushes will bear fruit in the summer and which will shrivel to their roots during winter?”

“You seem to have much love for nature,” Caduceus commented as he sipped his own tea.

Kit nodded, “Nature has always had a way of looking out for me. I…  _ tried  _ to return the favor. But I’ve always had this connection to it, for as long as I can remember. When I was cast out of the human settlement I was born in, nature protected me until a pack of wolves found me, and I turned into a fox, for the first time. I was scared and alone and confused, I was a  _ child.  _ The wolves did not attack me. They brought me to what would be my tribe. Turns out one of them was Wolf, the others were simply friends she had made. We parted with the pack and she introduced me to the Elder and I was accepted into the tribe. Nature has always loved me, and I have always loved it.”

“Woah woah woah, back up, you were a  _ child _ ?!” Beau questioned, “Your human parents  _ abandoned their own child in the middle of nowhere?” _

Kit nodded, “I won’t pretend to know why, or to forgive them for it, but if they hadn’t I would have faced a life arguably worse than the one I just escaped. I can assume it was because of my magic, because it was a day after I was seen to noticeably be doing it. There had been rumors all my life about me being ‘tainted’ by the ‘wilds’. They were only looking for an excuse to get rid of the one that was different.”

“What the fuck!” Beau complained. 

Kit shrugged, “In my experience, humans don’t like things that are different from them. They don’t like strange and unusual, and will attack whatever they feel threatens their sense of ‘normalcy’.”

“That’s pretty fucked up,” Jester commented idly.

“Is it?” Kit asked curiously.

“Well he’s not  _ wrong, _ ” Caleb said steadily, “but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fucked up.”

“I was ten when they cast me out, so,” Kit shrugged again, “My experience with humans is limited.”

“We should rest here for the night it’s getting late,” Caleb stood and moved to a spot off the side of the road in the sparse grass and dusty dirt, “I will set up the dome.”

“Dome?” Kit asked curiously as the others began moving towards their horses to retrieve their bedrolls. 

“It’s very safe!” Nott yelled over her shoulder, “Nothing can get in but us!”

“How-how big is it?” Kit asked nervously. 

“We sleep in it every night,” Fjord replied with a hand on Kit’s shoulder, “There’s room for you to join us, don’t worry.”

Caduceus saw a tension in Kit’s shoulders that spoke of a different worry as Kit pulled away. 

“I-I think I’d like to sleep in a tree…”

Caduceus walked up to stand near, careful not to close him in, “It is much safer in the dome, especially if you think they might come looking for you again. You can’t see in from the outside. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

In five minutes they had a campfire and Caduceus and Fjord worked on making a stew. Five minutes later it was ready and the dome appeared a few feet away. Jester took a bowl to Caleb, who apparently couldn’t leave the dome or it would disappear, and the rest of them sat in relative silence to eat. 

“You’ve answered a lot of our questions,” Fjord pointed out, “Only fair that you get to ask some of your own.”

Kit set his bowl on the ground in front of him, “Where are you going?”

“Well, we were gonna track down rumor of a slave trade going on in this area,” Yasha answered, “And so far, you’re our best lead to find them…”

Kit frowned, “I want to help you, I do, but…” he sighed, “Without my magic I’ve got nothing. I can show you where I escaped from, or at least get you going the right direction. It's a little hazy, I was in a lot of pain, but I can’t help… I want to, but I can’t…”

“We’re not asking you to help us fight,” Beau responded, “We’re  _ kind of  _ badass. Point us in the right direction and we’ll go and kick ass.”

Kit nodded, “Yes, I just wish I could join you in that regard. Early on, years ago, when they first brought me in I’d sworn that I’d escape, and when I did the land would return the damage they’d done to Her.”

“How about you join Fjord and me for meditation tonight? We can try to help you mend your connection,” Caduceus offered. 

“Gods, it’s been  _ years  _ since I was able to meditate,” Kit breathed, “I would love to join you.”

The group finished eating in silence and the majority of them entered the dome while Caduceus Fjord and Kit sat in a loose circle nearby. 

Kit breathed deeply as he settled on his knees, hands folded in his lap. He let himself lay forward with a breath and rest his forehead on the ground in front of him, bringing his arms up to fold comfortably above his head on the ground. 

He heard a curious noise and looked up at Fjord to see him with his legs folded awkwardly under him, and his back painfully straight. 

Kit gave a wry smile, “You are new to meditation too, yes?”

Fjord’s face flushed, “Ah, kinda. But I thought it was about posture and discipline?”

Kit breathed as he sat up again, “No, at least some may use it for that. I wouldn’t know about the majority, but in my tribe we treat meditation differently. In my tribe, it’s about settling in wherever you are, getting comfortable, and connecting to the world around you. We like to say to ‘clear your mind’ but the truth of that is that meditation is the  _ process  _ of clearing your mind. It’s a time to sort through thoughts and problems that are bothering you, addressing each one individually and deciding which ones you can do something about and which ones are out of your hands. To visualize taking those worries that we cannot control, and setting them to float on a leaf downstream. For settling into the here and now.” A breeze blew past and Kit turned into it slightly as he inhaled, “To listen to the wind and sky and babbling brook. To feel the dirt and earth and steady rock. To smell the flowers and trees and peaceful land. To taste the water and pollen in the breeze. To see the land and nature around you, connect to it and see the way it all connects to itself and everything around it.” He exhaled with a satisfied smile and closed eyes. 

When he opened his eyes, Caduceus was smiling at him in a pleased sort of way, “Now I  _ know  _ that your connection to the Wildmother is not broken.”

Kit tilted his head and opened his mouth to ask what he meant. He stopped, and realized his mouth felt different. He looked down, hadn’t even noticed the change in perspective. He looked back at the rest of himself and jumped to his feet.  _ White fur. Tail. He was a fox!  _ He leaped about the pair in his excitement, both Fjord and Caduceus laughing. He shook his fur out and stretched happily and blinked languidly at both Caduceus and Fjord. 

Fjord smiled and then yawned, “Alright then. I think this was exactly what we needed tonight. I’ll keep in mind what you said about meditation, but for now I think it’s about time we all get some rest.”

Caduceus noted that the fox had kept the human’s odd eyes. Though his hair color was hidden under dirt and grime in his human form, if his eyes remained the same, it seemed reasonable that white was also the color of his hair. He wondered if it was natural or something he had decided on. For now the fox was prancing towards the dome with Fjord. 

Kit hesitated on the outside of it as Fjord stepped in. He shrunk back, clearly unsure. 

Caduceus stepped up next to him, “You don’t like small spaces huh?” The fox shook its head, “That’s alright. You can’t see in, but you can see out, and you can enter and exit at will. It’s only a barrier to the things that aren’t us. To us, it might as well just be an illusion.”

The fox looked at the dome again and sniffed at it before carefully poking its nose inside, then his whole head. Caduceus entered behind him and showed him that he could leave just as easily. Kit nodded at him and Caduceus interpreted it as a thanks, then found a space among the cluster of bodies to curl up,  _ still a fox _ , and go to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

When they woke, Kit was no longer a fox, and there was a pile of clothes and a quarterstaff sat next to where the campfire had been. There was a letter on top of the green cloak, written in a language none of the Nein recognized. 

Caleb was in the middle of casting Comprehend Languages when Kit plucked the letter from him, having just woken up. 

“Druidic is an ancient and sacred secret,” he scolded lightly, “I would trust that you leave this to me and mine.” He looked down at the letter to read it, then at the clothes on the ground, “A gift from my Mother,” he explained, and picked up the first piece. He took a moment to sift through it, and tucked the clothes into a bag he found on the bottom of the pile and stood, “I am going to go change…” without waiting for a response he walked off into the cover of the trees he’d escaped from the day before. 

He found a spot, not too deep into the trees, but far enough that his rescuers wouldn’t see him as he knelt and inspected the item Mother had mentioned in her note, tucked away in the bottom of the bag. It was a necklace of large glass beads, the largest at the center filled with water. A focus, to help him cast now that he’d been kept from doing so for so long. He fastened it around his neck and tore the rags from his shoulders so he could change into the new armor. 

Heavy green fabric trimmed in golden yellow, leather pieces sewn into the pleats that covered his torso. It had long, billowing sleeves that covered his arms down to below the elbow, where leather bracers had been sewn into the fabric. A belt with pouches for herbs and components that had skirt-like trails, a decorative one in front and two plain ones in the back that were padded with lightweight leather. It had thick leather pieces that hung over the outside of his thighs, two curved pieces on each side, one small one larger, fastened to his legs with cloth ties. Thick and plain grey cloth to cover his legs and feet with soft leather soles in the cloth boots. The final piece, as he stood and held it up, was a simple piece, a green shoulder cloak trimmed with the same golden yellow as the shirt, and a circular clasp made of braided leather, designs of vines and leaves carved into the smooth planes between braided cords. The cords were laid in the shape of a symbol of the Wildmother. Kit threw it over his shoulder to cover one arm and the other shoulder and used the leather ties to fasten it to his armor so that it would stay in place. 

Armor in place, Kit knelt again and picked up the quarterstaff. It was plain, it didn’t need to be decorated, his armor would speak for itself, but Kit felt it was special, for no reason other than that it would be used to make everything  _ right,  _ to fix his mistakes and failures. He slid the bag over his shoulder as well, a lightweight cloth thing, decorative as the rest of his armor. It wouldn’t hold much, but it didn’t need to. He stood up with a breath, and turned to head back to the group. 

He emerged to see them talking over breakfast and approached slowly, sitting near Fjord and Caduceus. 

“Well you look better,” Fjord commented, “It’s a miracle what a change of clothes can do.”

Kit nodded and accepted the bowl of, thankfully meatless, food without a word as Caduceus passed it to him. 

“So, we were talking while you were gone and we kinda realized that we never actually introduced ourselves,” Kit looked up at the woman, tanned, built lean and strong, hair tied up in a knot and cut close on the sides, and blue robes and sashes, “I’m Beau.”

Kit nodded, “I didn't think to ask,” he admitted sheepishly. 

“To be fair you did almost die, you  _ kinda  _ had other things on your mind!” The blue tiefling chirped, baubles tinkling as they hung from curled horns, “I’m Jester, and this is Sprinkle!” She grinned, holding out a haggard looking crimson weasel. 

Kit blinked at it for a moment and then smiled and held out a hand to him, offering a piece of a dried fruit. The weasel sniffed and took the fruit piece and scurried back up to Jester’s shoulders.

“Ah,  _ ja,  _ I am Caleb Widogast,” the red headed man looked up from, what Kit guessed was, his spell book. 

“Nott the Brave!” The little goblin stood next to the wizard, “Welcome to the Mighty Nein!”

Kit nodded at both of them and turned to the large dark looking woman with them. 

“My name is Yasha,” she answered awkwardly.

“Well, it was lucky that you found me when you did I suppose, details are a little fuzzy after getting…  _ away _ ,” Kit rubbed the back of his neck, “I will show you to the mine when you’re ready, and I would help you fight if you would have me.”

“ _ Can  _ you fight?” Fjord asked curiously, “I mean, yesterday you were having trouble connecting and all… we don’t wanna put you at risk.”

Kit gave a wry smile, “Going back at all is a risk Fjord,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, fair enough,” he shrugged, “but still?”

Kit lifted a hand to the beads around his neck, “This should help strengthen my connection to my magic in the interim of mending it.” As if to prove it, Kit reached out to the ground beneath him with his free hand and closed his eyes. 

Green energy swirled from the beads and the hand touching them before curling in the shape of vines, quick as the blink of an eye, down his outstretched arm and into the grass, which turned a brighter more brilliant green in response and became softer as it grew a few inches. 

“A little bit of druidcraft to warm up,” Kit explained at the looks he saw when he opened his eyes. 

“What other spells do you know?” Caleb asked curiously.

Kit shrugged a little, “I can produce flame, and create a shillelagh. I also know a little basic healing, and I’m not…  _ inexperienced  _ at fighting in my Shape. Fox is my preference, but I can do many others as well, ones better suited to fighting, like bears or wolves, maybe a large cat.”

“What’s a shillelagh?!” Jester asked excitedly. Kit got the feeling that was pretty much how she  _ always  _ sounded. 

“It imbues whatever wooden weapon I wield with the power of nature. Makes it a little easier for me to hit things, gives it a little more power to every strike,” he answered and picked up the staff he’d set by the side, “I can show you, it takes barely any energy at all, actually,” he held the staff in both hands and focused on the shamrock and sprig of mistletoe tied to one end, as he spoke the Druidic enchantment. 

In a moment the staff was glowing with the same green curling magic that had rushed down his arms, “It only lasts about a minute at a time, but I can recast it as many times as I need.”

“ _ Cool _ ,” Beau commented, looking closely at the magic before holding out her bo staff, “Can you do that to mine?!” 

Kit smiled, “Unfortunately no,” he held his own staff out for Beau to take, “The magic fades as soon as I let go of the weapon,” he explained as she took it and watched the magic fade from the wood. 

“Aww man, that would’ve been cool,” Beau hummed and handed his staff back to him. 

Kit nodded, “Yes, believe me I’d love to give you a bit of nature’s power to kick their asses with, but alas, it is tied to me. I can at least  _ tangle  _ them up a bit, make them a little easier to hit.”

“That’ll do,” Beau nodded and flexed a bit. 

Kit took a breath and stood, “If you are ready?” He offered, “There is an encampment a few hours ahead of the mine. A sort of early-warning system, I think… We’ll have to get past that first.”

“Do you have a plan?” Nott asked curiously.

“Not really. I didn’t exactly get a good look at it on my way through. All I know is that it is where I took a bolt in my leg.”

“Fair. We will do some scouting when we get close and come up with something,” Caleb responded. 

Kit nodded, “Alright…” he took a breath, “Follow me.” He stepped into the brush, following the instinctual path he’d taken to get away.

They walked in complete silence for a number of hours, minds occupied watching for dangers around them. The slavers did a well enough job of keeping dangerous predators out of the area, though, and Kit held up a hand to stop the group as they approached the outpost. 

By now it was near noon, and the tall log walls of the small veritable fortress were guarded and the cover up to them was limited. 

Kit could hear shouting inside and knew that they were organizing another party to track him down. 

“Well sneaking in is out,” the goblin grumbled, then grinned manically at Jester, “Fluffernutter?”

Jester beamed but Fjord cut in before she could respond, “No! No, how about we get an  _ idea  _ of what we’re  _ dealing with  _ first.” He argued. 

Kit looked at the party gathered behind him as they threw ideas back and forth. The wizard summoned a cat, shutting down the idea that the cat was a bird and could scout for them. 

“I can be a bird,” Kit offered.

“Last time we tried something like that I was a moth and I forgot what I was doing because apparently moths a  _ really dumb _ ,” Jester responded, sitting down and tapping a finger to her chin as she thought. 

“I… don’t know how  _ you  _ do it, but my Shape allows me to take the  _ physical  _ form of a creature, not the mental form. I could find a flock nearby and do a fly over, songbirds generally travel in flocks, it’d be less suspicious if there was more than one,” Kit explained. 

The Nein looked between each other and shrugged and responded in a chorus of answers-

“Alright.”

“Yeah.”

“Fair enough.”

Kit nodded and lifted his hands to his mouth and whistled a bird song. 

The moment he heard the fluttering response of small wings taking flight he shed his human form for feathers and took off after the flock. 

The Nein waited silently for the few minutes it took for the little snow-white songbird to return. It changed before landing, revealing Kit already kneeling in front of them. 

“I have an idea,” he reached down to the dry dirt at their feet and drew a simple map with his finger, then pointed out two buildings on the edges of the walls, “There is a blind spot in this corner because of this building,” he explained, “If some of you get there, and stay close to the wall and spread out, I can take their attention and give you an opening to take out the vast majority in a coordinated attack.”

“How do you plan on getting their attention?” Caduceus asked.

Kit looked at him, “Like I said, my…  _ previous owner  _ doesn’t like to lose things that belong to her. They’ll be looking for me, and I plan on putting on something of a show,” he smiled, “I will need some help with that, someone to boost my voice, make some thunder when I plant my staff.”

Caduceus nodded, “I can do that.”

“I can help too!” Jester offered, “Thaumaturgy is one of my  _ favorites _ !” She grinned.

Kit smiled at them both and nodded, “Just follow my lead, stay hidden, try to make me seem like…  _ something else _ . An angered spirit or something. That ought to get their attention and make it easier for the others to get in position.”

“We should do this at night,” Caleb suggested, “It will be harder for us to see, but the effect will be…  _ enhanced. _ And I can give you some lighting so that you are very visible and possibly more imposing, if we do it right.”

“That leaves Nott, Fjord, Yasha, and I on flanking duty,” Beau nodded, “But we have the best chances of getting over the wall anyway, I like this.”

“I am not very good at sneaking, I think I will stay and help you fight whoever comes out the front,” Yasha responded quietly. 

Kit nodded at Yasha and tilted his head at Beau, “Will you be able to see at night?”

She picked up the goggles hanging around her neck, “These babies give me darkvision.”

“Alright then… night time it is…” Kit nodded, “We can watch them in the meantime, get a feel for their patrols.”

And so they waited and watched. Jester got bored and was kept quiet only by the fact that if she didn’t then they’d all be fucked. At some point a patrol left, carrying nets, bolas, and chains. Kit felt a cold fear at the sight of them and knew they were sent out to hunt him down. Hopefully they would either return before dark or after sunrise. 

As it happened they returned at dusk, dragging the bodies of the previous party that had been after him. Kit couldn’t say he was worried about there being more people in the camp. 

They waited for total darkness before getting in position. Kit stayed near the path that led up to the entrance and trained his eyes on the spot Caleb was hiding while he waited to receive a message from Nott that they were in position and ready. 

Caleb’s signal was a purposeful rustle of the brush. 

Kit stood up and walked into the center of the path and faced the encampment. He strode forward, channeling his Druidcraft to leave green vines and grass in his wake before he stepped within thirty feet of the gate. 

He kept his head up and didn’t move when the sentry yelled for him to identify himself. 

Kit smirked and spun the staff in one hand before planting it firmly with a perfectly timed roll of thunder, courtesy of Jester’s thaumaturgy, and felt Caduceus’ take hold in his throat as small lights danced up from where the staff hit the dirt and spread around him. 

“My name is Kitori Fox, Druid of the Land, and this place does not belong to you!” Kit yelled with as much forceful presence as he could, voice amplified by Caduceus, and planted his staff again, getting another clap of thunder from Jester.

Kit waited, eyes trained above the gate, as the sentry called for more guards and barked a laugh, making comments he couldn’t hear. 

Then the gate opened and Kit looked at the man leading the party, trying to emulate the sense of superiority he’d seen on the slavers that had kept him. They were laughing and joking between each other, taunting him, clearly, pointing with their spears and swords. 

Kit looked between all of them and raised his chin, “ _ This land does not belong to you. _ ” With that, he shed his skin for fur and took the form of a white wolf, snarling and threatening, hackles raised.

A well used thaumaturgy made the wind pick up and swirl around him violently. 

He had the pleasure of watching them freeze for a moment before shouting angrily as they all prepared their weapons. 

“What the  _ fuck  _ is this guy?!”

“The fuck’s it matter! Pup thinks it can take all o’ us?!”

They stalked forward, weapons raised, grinning savagely. Kit raised his head and howled, the signal for the others to jump the fence and attack.

He lowered his head and bared his teeth as the guards approached. 

One took a swipe at him with his scimitar and Kit dodged to the front, leaping to catch the man’s wrist in his teeth and bite. The man yelled in pain and tried to pull his arm back, but Kit held firm and pulled, shaking his head to tear. The hand dropped the sword and the man punched him in the face, finally dislodging his wrist from Kit’s teeth. 

“Why you fuckin..” he growled, cradling his bleeding arm, “ _ mangy little bitch! _ ” He kicked but it was sloppy and Kit dodged it easily, nipping towards the leg, but his teeth closed around air.

Another of them jabbed at him with a spear from behind and it pierced his leg. Kit yelped and twisted around to bite and managed to close his teeth around the weapon and jerk it out of his grasp and drop it before leaping at him, biting for his throat. Kit got the man on the ground and tore at his throat with his teeth before another guard kicked him in the ribs to shove him off the body and threw another spear at him. 

The spear missed, planted into the dirt next to him. Kit turned and stalked towards the remaining guards, snarling thunderously. One of them looked shaken, the others tightened their grips on their weapons. 

One, a brutish orc, charged forward with a roar, wielding a warhammer. 

Kit rushed forward to meet her and ducked inside of her range and bit at her thigh. 

She grabbed him by the scruff and threw him back towards the other two guards. Kit spun around and leaped at one and tore their throat as well. 

The orc was charging again and Kit darted between the legs of the other guard and they sent each other sprawling in the dirt. Kit finished them both off before they could recover, then turned and stalked towards the gate. 

He could hear the guard on the wall yelling now, screaming for backup, shouting incoherently about this man who turned into a wolf and ripped out the throats of his friends. Kit bared his teeth in a wicked wolfish grin, satisfied to have struck a fear into the heart of this cruel man. If anyone survived, they would remember that the land did not belong to them. 

An arrow struck him in the shoulder and he jumped and barked at the suddenness of pain exploding in his shoulder. He could not identify the source of the arrow before another struck him and his Shape faded and left him human. 

Kit straightened and held his head high as he tapped his staff on the ground as he spoke the druidic incantation, “ANeLe RRU TUL rRRU!” glowing green energy engulfed his staff in a flash and he held it at his side as Yasha, Jester, Caduceus, and Caleb all stepped through the gates to stand behind him.

“What th-” a shout got cut off with a meaty  _ thwack _ followed by a thud.

There were a few flashes of green eldritch energy, and the light of torches caught the metal heads of crossbow bolts as the others finished off their attack.

The camp was silent and Kit let his shillelagh fade as they regrouped.

“Holy shit!” Jester exhaled dramatically, “Beau  _ oh my god you should have seen him!  _ He’s  _ terrifying _ !”

Kit blinked at her and Beau looked at him, “What? This guy?”

Kit chuckled and nodded, “It was more presentation than anything,” he agreed, “any amount of intimidation I managed was thanks to the magical assistance.”

“Not true!” Jester argued, “You turned into that wolf and then you were  _ really  _ scary! You ripped that guy’s throat out!”

Kit gave a sheepish grin, “They were unprepared for a real fight. They did not perceive me as a threat and that was  _ their _ mistake.”

“You were quite the presence,” Caleb nodded, “With or without the magic, I think I would have been intimidated.”

“Are you injured?” Caduceus asked, leaning down slightly to get a better look at him.

“No,” Kit shook his head, “Injuries I take in my Shape don’t usually extend to my human form.”

“How far is this mine?” Beau asked.

“Not sure,” Kit shrugged, “I covered the distance pretty fast as a bear, but my head was…  _ cloudy _ , I couldn’t tell you how long it really took. Best guess? An hour, maybe two.” 

“We should keep going,” Yasha suggested, “We don’t know if they will send more from the mines to relieve the ones we just killed. I would hate for them to show up and we are in the middle of a rest.”

“I agree,” Kit nodded at Yasha, “The longer we wait the longer they have to realize what we’ve done here.”

“Then we keep going,” Fjord nodded, “Lead the way.”


	3. Chapter 3

They approached the entrance to the mine quietly. There were two sentries outside and, between Nott and Beau, they were dealt with silently. 

“Alright, so, what  _ exactly  _ is the goal here?” Fjord asked curiously in a hushed tone. 

“Kill the foremen and managers, free the other slaves, hunt down the owner, and fix the damage they’ve done,” Kit answered, voice hard. 

“And the plan?” Beau asked critically.

Kit looked at her, “Fight. We are here to protect the land, it will protect us in turn.”

“You believe that, after everything that’s happened?” Caleb wondered. 

“The moment I stop believing that is the moment they win.” 

“I don’t suppose you have an  _ actual  _ plan, do you?” Beau asked with a raised brow. 

“No. I uh… I don’t-“ Kit frowned and huffed a frustrated noise, “I do not know how to say this in Common, my words are failing me. I do not know what is on the other side of this gate.”

“I could go in first, all quiet like and scout it out,” Nott suggested. 

Kit shook his head, “It feels wrong, I do not like the idea of dividing our forces, even for this, not here; here there is only safety in numbers.”

“Well we could pretend to be bringing you back-“

“No,” Kit visibly tensed at the idea, “No ropes no chains. I won’t.”

“Then our only option is to go in blind…” Fjord surmised and shrugged, “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Kit hummed nervously and shifted his weight, “They… There is an arena. They make some of the slaves fight. I don’t know if I can find it, but they keep the fighters in solitary cells near it.”

“And if we can get there we can release them for some much deserved retribution,” Beau grinned as she put together Kit’s idea.

Kit nodded, looking satisfied and relieved to not have to continue explaining.

“Let’s go then!” Jester already appeared to be preparing her spiritual weapon, “Just guide us the best you can!”

Kit nodded once at her before his form shifted. Not so much  _ shrunk _ as it simply  _ changed _ . If anything he was slightly larger in this wolf form than he was as a human. Though of course that wasn’t saying much considering Caduceus could count his ribs even through the thick fur. He also noticed that he already seemed winded, legs trembling with exhaustion as he moved towards the gate. Caduceus wondered idly if they had been a little hasty in coming  _ now,  _ if they should have waited until Kit had regained his strength, but it was too late now, the gate was swinging open and Kit was stalking through it. 

Yasha, Beau, and Jester moved in immediately behind him. Caduceus waited for Fjord and Nott to move in before going in with Caleb behind him. 

Immediately they entered into a long tunnel that sloped down steeply, going a good fifty meters before it branched into three directions, a right tunnel that spiraled upwards into the mountain the mine was under, the left stayed relatively level, branching further down, and continuing down straight ahead. 

They also encountered the first guards there. Three, one posted at the beginning of each tunnel. They managed to yelp in surprise, terror, and pain as Kit, Yasha, and Beau fell upon them and silenced them. 

With the three dead and curious shouts from all directions, Kit lifted his head and scented the air before dashing sharply down further into the mine, rushing past other, smaller, branches and tunnels where they could hear the clanging of metal on stone and metal on metal, the jangle of chains and the snapping of whips. Kit rushed past it all, a hard set to his face as he followed the smell he’d caught in the still air. 

Kit leaped at the first guard to get in his way, cutting the orc’s scream short as his teeth crushed their throat, then he was off again. Beau and Nott kept up easily, but the others were starting to fall behind. At least until he skidded to a stop at another crossroads and he took a moment to scent the air again. He growled and swung his head around to look down each tunnel before he lowered his head and bared his teeth with a vicious warning growl deep in his throat. 

Caduceus leaned down and placed a hand between the wolf’s shoulders, “What’s wrong?”

The wolf flinched at his touch and snapped a warning. Caduceus understood the meaning as  _ Wrong. Danger.  _

“Which direction?” Caduceus asked, straightening and looking down each tunnel. 

The fur on the back of Kit’s neck raised and he shook it and his hackles raised even more. Caduceus interpreted the idea of  _ All. Trap. Knew. Expected.  _

“What do you mean ‘trap’?” Caduceus asked, concern lacing his voice. 

The Nein tensed behind him.

“The fucks goin on Cad?!” Beau demanded, bracing ready for a fight. 

“He believes that we are in danger. They expected him to come back before he was ready and they have set a trap.”

“Trap?!” Nott questioned.

Kit moved to use his body to push the Nein back slightly. There was a crack and the rumble and shift of moving earth and they collectively looked back the way they came to see the tunnel collapsed. It did not escape Caduceus’ notice that Kit did not look, but stayed facing the other three tunnels, clearly anticipating the danger. 

Caduceus interpreted his next series of snarls as  _ Stand. Fight. Together.  _

Kit launched himself at the first sign of movement. He was thrust back by a sturdy shield and the gnoll behind it brandishing a whip. It was joined by several more gnolls, barking and laughing in that disconcerting way that gnolls had as they threatened the group with their spears, whips, nets, and bludgeons. 

The Nein jumped into an offensive attack immediately. Caleb led the attack by breaking their shield wall with a very precisely placed fireball that left several of the gnolls little more than smoking heaps. The opening was the perfect opportunity for Nott and Beau to thin and scatter them even more as Fjord took up a position watching Kit’s back as he dove through the line and tore at whatever gnollish flesh he could reach. 

The thunderous footsteps were the only warning to Caduceus that these gnolls were only meant to keep them distracted. Before the others could react to his warning a hulking form barged through the cluster of fighting bodies. Many gnolls were trampled in the attack and the ogre turned with a ferocious roar and swung its club through the air towards a pair of bodies still standing. 

Caleb reacted first with a quick swipe of molasses on his lip and a Slow spell gripping the beast. It gave Fjord time to raise his shield to meet the blow, saving himself and Kit from being crushed beneath the massive club. 

Kit growled dangerously and ran under Fjord and leaped to run up the ogre’s club, still connecting with Fjord’s shield, still pressing powerfully down. Fjord wouldn’t be able to hold it off forever. He sank his teeth into the meaty flesh of the ogre’s shoulder and dragged it down with him, giving Fjord, Beau, and Jester an easy target. 

They stood a moment to catch their breath and Kit looked up at Caduceus. 

_ Want. Alive. Punish.  _

“You think they want you alive?” Caduceus asked for clarification. 

The wolf nodded and his eyes shifted to look down each tunnel before carefully trudging up to a dead gnoll and nosing the net it had carried, pointing it out as evidence to his claim. 

“Well we’re not going to let them take you,” Fjord said as he stepped close to the wolf and knelt to run a hand through the thick fur. 

Kit shied away from the touch instinctively and turned to continue sniffing at the ground, searching for some scent. 

Fjord looked at Caduceus and shrugged before standing up and looking down each tunnel. 

Kit barked once to get everyone’s attention and pointed with his nose down the right tunnel before taking off in that direction and leaving them to catch up. They ran after him and before long he disappeared around a corner. 

There was a sudden, pained yelp that froze them in their tracks for a split second before they surged forward and around the corner, weapons and magic ready. 

Kit was on his side, an arrow protruding from between his ribs just behind the shoulder. Caduceus could hear his pained and strained breathing from where he stood, little more than ten meters away, and knew that the arrow had struck something vital. The arrow would be the only thing that kept him alive until they could deal with whoever had shot it. 

As he watched, the wolf’s form melted away and left a human in its place, the arrow still sticking painfully into his ribs as he lay there, face twisted in a grimace as he tried to breathe. 

The archer stepped from their hiding place, an alcove along the wall, and looked satisfied at the pain the human was in. He only spared a moment to look at the crumpled form at his feet before looking at the Nein and studying them boredly. 

That was his mistake. Nott fired her crossbow at the same time as Fjord released a volley of eldritch blast and Yasha charged forward with an enraged roar. 

The bolt struck the man in the shoulder, followed quickly by two of Fjord’s blasts, the third was blocked by an arcane shield, along with Yasha’s greatsword attack. 

The man snapped and a section of the wall shifted and seemed to crumble before reforming into a stone golem. 

The giant stone construct loomed over its master a moment before grabbing a chunk of rock from the wall of the tunnel and hurling it towards the Nein. 

Caleb stepped in front of them and the boulder smashed against the arcane shield he summoned, a wave of amber energy rippling around them. They were unharmed and Jester stepped up next to Caleb and fired a guiding bolt at the mage archer. 

Beau took the opportunity to lunge forward and stun him, leaving him vulnerable to Yasha’s swinging blade. 

The mage crumpled and Caduceus sent a healing word to the Druid laying still on the ground to keep him alive. 

There was a flurry of movement as the Nein leaped into action and Caduceus lost sight of Kit for a moment. Then there was a mass of vines erupting from the ground, wrapping the construct and constricting and crushing whatever pieces the vines managed to wrap. The golem crumbled into dust and dirt and when it cleared Caduceus saw Kit, on his knees, hands planted in the dirt, green glow still fading from his eyes and arms. The shaft of the arrow was broken, still peeking out from the pleats of his armor, the fletched end on the ground beside him. 

Kit took a couple labored breaths and choked on a third, coughing up a bit of blood before collapsing to his side again. 

Caduceus was there in a moment, carefully pulling the rest of the arrow out of the wound. It was at least four inches deep into his chest and Caduceus immediately covered the wound with one hand once the arrowhead slipped free and cast a cure wounds to heal whatever damage it had done to the Druid’s lung. 

Kit coughed a bit and caught his breath, “Thank you.” He stood slowly, using his staff as leverage to pull himself off of the ground, “We should keep moving, I caught the scent of the arena this way.”

“How does an arena smell any different than the rest of this place?” Yasha wondered. 

“Drugs,” Kit answered simply, “They put the slaves, creatures, and beasts into a rage with them, and then set them loose to tear each other to shreds…”

Fjord grimaced, “Wonderful mental image, thank you for that.”

“Further proves the point of what we are doing here. There are worse things than the arena in this mine.”

“Worse how?” Beau questioned.

Kit shrugged, “Depends on what disturbs you most. They like to have…  _ options… _ to remind the…  _ residents _ here that resistance will get them nowhere.”

“How many did they use on you?” Caleb this time.

Kit didn’t answer for a long time, and the others assumed he wouldn’t, but he did, eventually, speak quietly, “I lost track. I am not keen to remember either.”

They continued in silence for a few minutes before Kit signaled for the group to slow down. 

“We are close. There will be guards and sentries.”

He started forward and Beau stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, “Maybe you should hang back and go in  _ with  _ us instead of on your own this time. You almost died back there, and we’ll have better odds if we stick together. You said so yourself right? Here, there is only safety in numbers, right?”

Kit paused and looked at her a moment, “Yes… apologies, I got… carried away.”

“No problem man, we handled it, just help us make sure we all make it out of here.”

Kit nodded and moved off, slower now, letting the Nein stay close around him as he guided them.

The first cell they came across was unguarded and reeked of blood. 

Kit peered in a moment and shook his head and motioned for them to continue, “A boar. He can not help us, it is safer for him to stay where he is until we can treat his wounds.”

Nott looked inside as she passed, hearing the heavy snuffling breaths, she saw the massive lump of a form of the boar, tusks barely visible in the dim light, but no less lethal for it, “You plan to heal that thing? It could tear  _ us  _ to shreds!”

“He won’t.” Kit answered simply, “He only wants to be free.”

“How do you know that?” Jester asked curiously.

Kit was silent for a long moment and did not face her when he finally answered, “I am the one who wounded him.”

“Why?” Caduceus asked softly, he sounded as if he already knew the answer.

“I was not in my right mind,” Kit answered sharply, “I did not do it willingly.”

They continued in silence and got a drop on a set of five guards patrolling the tunnel. It was over before they could make a sound. 

Kit ran up to the next set of cells and peered inside, “Yes, this one!” He turned to the group, “Can one of you get this open?”

“I got this!” Nott grinned and approached, lockpicks ready.

Kit turned back to the cell, “We are getting you out. They want to see us fight? We will give them a  _ personal _ demonstration.”

“Are those…  _ wolves? _ ” Nott questioned as she approached the locked door. 

“Yes. The people in this area will be in no condition to help us fight, and I would not like to be using them as fodder. These wolves are strong and skilled, they will help us.”

“How do you know they won’t just attack us and leave?!” Beau demanded. 

“Before I left, I asked them to help me free them when I returned. Wolves are keepers of their word, and the matriarch of this pack gave hers. They will help.”

Nott hesitantly opened the lock and was careful to stay behind the door as it swung open. 

Kit knelt and scratched the scruff of one of the wolves a moment before standing, “Let’s go. There is much fighting to be done.”

“You asked them before you left?” Beau asked, “I thought you said you couldn’t think clearly? Something about drugs?”

Kit hesitated with his answer, rubbing anxiously at one wrist, “I… had a few moments of clarity, only a few minutes. Else I never would have managed to escape at all. They became complacent, trusted the drugs to keep me docile. Changed the enchanted collar that kept me separated from my magic and Shape for a regular iron collar. If I had not broken through the haze I never would’ve thought to try to escape.”

“Seems kinda convenient,” Beau commented suspiciously, “You don’t think maybe they intended for you to lure somebody back here into a trap?”

Kit thought for a moment, “I had not considered that, no.” He turned to the rest of the group, “If you all would like to leave I would understand, I would not put you all at risk like this for whatever reason.” He sounded as if he  _ expected  _ them to leave without a second thought, like just  _ leaving  _ was their only option, “I will help you get out, but this is something I have to do, and I will not be joining you when you leave.”

“Now hang on, I didn’t say anything about leaving,” Beau countered, arms crossed, “I just wanna know what we’re walking in to, if we can expect another ambush around the next corner or whatever.”

“I would not know. I can only advise caution as we move forward.”

“Right…” Beau nodded and breathed, “I guess we should keep moving then.”

Kit nodded back and moved off with the wolf pack. Nott turned invisible and scouted ahead. Between Nott and the wolves, they were not caught off guard again. 

In a matter of long minutes of fighting and searching, Kit finally had the manager of the mine pinned against a wall, anger in his eyes and fire in his palms. 

The wretched little man begged for mercy, even as he pulled a knife from behind his back and thrust it towards Kit’s heart. Kit grabbed the man’s wrist in a flaming hand and the blade clattered to the ground as the man screamed. Kit snarled and thrust the wrist back into the wall of the tunnel. There was a glow of magic and the stone moved and trapped the hand into the wall. 

“No-no! Please! Let me go!” The man begged. 

Kit scowled at him, “Where is your boss,” he demanded, voice low and threatening. 

“I-I don’t know I swear!”

Kit growled and grabbed him by the throat, “ _ Yes you do _ . Tell me where she is and I’ll let you go…”

Kit wasn’t giving any of the Nein the chance to stop him from this interrogation.

“I don’t know!” The man insisted. 

“Then rejoin the land you were so eager to destroy,” Kit snarled and the stone absorbed more of the man’s arm and one foot. 

“Stop! Stop I’ll tell you! S-She’s in Shady-Creek Run, looking at merchandise.” 

Kit snarled, “You mean slaves.”

“Y-yes. She’ll be back in a few days! Now p-please! Let me go!”

Kit’s face lightened a bit and for a moment the Nein weren’t sure he’d honor the deal, then the stone released the man’s arm and leg. 

He stumbled forward and ran down the tunnel. They followed him to the entrance. 

“Nott… shoot him,” Kit advised as they watched him scramble through the trees.

“What?! No! You said you’d let him go!” Nott refused. 

Kit scowled and in a flash he was a wolf and raced after the slaver. Beau tried to catch him by the tail and failed. There was nothing any of them could do to stop Kit from ripping the man to shreds. 

He trudged back and shifted back when he reached them. 

“You promised you’d let him go…” Jester commented.

“I said I’d let him go. Not that I would let him  _ live, _ ” Kit countered and stalked inside. 

They all shared concerned looks and followed him.

“Why?” Beau asked softly. “I mean… that was pretty… brutal.”

“It was no less than he deserved.”

“I dunno about that man… I mean, slavers are awful and all but…”

“Leave him alone,” Fjord cut in, “Maybe it was harsh, but Kit’s right, it’s no less than he deserved.”

Caduceus placed a hand on Fjord’s shoulder without a word.

Fjord brushed it off, “How many times did he do the same thing to him do you think?” Fjord scowled at his friends, “He needed to die, maybe not like that, but it had to be done.”

Kit nodded, “Thank you, Fjord. I will not pretend that I did what I did for unselfish reasons. It was satisfying, to give him an ounce of the terror and pain he caused the hundreds of slaves here. I would do it again. But if I had let him live, he would have only gone back to his boss and they would have moved their whole operation elsewhere and caused more pain and more suffering and that is something I cannot allow.”

He led the way deeper into the mines in silence


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter include: Nightmares and vague references to various non consensual content. Generally the warnings you’d expect when slavers are involved.

“So… where are we going now?” Jester asked softly as Kit led the way. 

“To finish freeing the people here. And to show you the damage these slavers have caused.”

They walked in silence for a long minute. 

“Why  _ did  _ you do that?” Nott questioned, “You said something about it not being unselfish, so what was the selfish reason?”

Kit huffed a breath, “I have many. Revenge, closure,  _ justice.” _

“I don’t see much point to revenge..” Caduceus commented quietly, “Pain for pain is just  _ more _ pain.”

Kit looked over his shoulder at Caduceus with something between a critical eye and a glare before facing forward again, “Maybe. But it felt good.  _ Pain  _ is the only lesson that beast of a man understood. They kept me in chains here for five years, do not presume to know anything of this business.”

“I still think that it’ll become a cycle. They hurt you and you hurt them now they’ll hurt you back,” Caduceus argued. 

Kit stopped and turned to face Caduceus now. 

“Not if none of them are alive to do so. They will try. That is the point. I want them to come so that I can do the same to  _ her _ . I spent  _ five years  _ in these gods forsaken mines, they tore me to shreds. What I did to that man was a  _ fraction _ of what he deserved.”

Caduceus was silent for a long time, he and Kit staring between each other. 

“This anger and revenge isn’t the Wildmother’s will… revenge isn’t natural.”

Kit scowled and turned on his heel, “Have everything torn from you as you are powerless to stop it and see how you feel about revenge then. I will not live to regret what I have done here. The only regret I will have is that I did not do  _ more _ .”

With that, Kit’s form changed as he took the form of a fox and bounded down the tunnel, leaving the Nein to scramble to catch up.

Fjord hung back with Caduceus, “Much as I agree that the way he handled that was… not good, and that this whole revenge thing might be a bit over the top… Kit has a point, Cad, the only languages these people understand are pain and fear.”

Caduceus sighed, “You’ve been where he is. Can you help me understand why he’s so…”

“Determined? Angry?” Fjord sighed as well and shrugged, “I dunno, Cad, I’m not him, and I don’t think our experiences were anything alike, so…” Fjord trailed off, “You’re good at reading people, Caduceus, why do  _ you  _ think he’s so angry?”

Kit stopped and turned to look back at the pair. 

_ I can hear better than even you, Caduceus, in this Shape. If you still do not understand my fury I will show you why.  _

He turned and stalked down another tunnel. 

The others looked at Caduceus for an explanation for the sudden change in direction. 

Caduceus shrugged and followed the fox. 

The tunnel sloped and turned and winded in all directions and the Nein followed Kit in silence as the mined smooth walls and ceilings turned rough and craggy, natural. 

The white fox led them deeper into the natural cave and it opened into a cavern. Sunlight was peaking through cracks in ceiling, reflecting off a large underground spring, casting dancing specs of light to shift along the walls. 

It should have been beautiful. 

Instead it was littered with debris. Chunks of rock and metal and bones and scrap. Furnaces and anvils and forges and work benches lined the open spaces. There was a runoff behind the installations, spilling muck into the water that should have been crystal clear. Chains and worked metals littered the floor, rods were stored in a barrel, there was a crate with chains and manacles spilling over the edges. There had been iron spikes hammered into the wall with manacles dangling from them. Chains were wrapped loosely around one of the stalagmites and it was easy to picture slaves being restrained there for long periods of time. 

Kit shifted back and didn’t look back at the Nein as he looked over the cavern, “This spring feeds others outside, on the surface. The pollution they spilled into this water will kill the animals that drink from it and the entire forest will die slowly over many years as this pollution poisons the land. It will take hundreds, maybe thousands of years for it to recover from the damage they have done.” Finally he turned to face the group, taking each of them in before his eyes landed on Caduceus, “It was my charge to  _ prevent _ this from happening. And  _ they made me do it _ .”

They were silent, taking in the meaning of everything they were looking at. Kit stepped away and sat on his knees at the edge of the spring. 

“You are not Druids. I do not expect you to understand what this means. So I will explain. I do worship the Wildmother, but I do not draw my magic directly from her, like Caduceus and Fjord. I draw it from a  _ piece _ of her, from Nature and Earth itself. In return for the gift of my magic, I swore to  _ protect _ the natural land and spirit.” Kit’s voice was smooth now where his speech had been slow and stilted before, “Well. The natural land and spirit here is dead. The most I can do for it now is to  _ hunt _ the people who killed it, and strike fear into the hearts of those that would dare to follow in their footsteps. To ensure this  _ never  _ happens again.” He looked over his shoulder at the group, “But like I said. You are not Druids, I would not expect you to understand. I  _ would _ , however, expect that you respect that it is  _ my _ responsibility and my charge.”

Caduceus stepped forward and knelt next to him, “I think I do understand now…”

Kit nodded once, “You are a cleric. You err on the side of mercy and forgiveness. I am a Druid, and Nature is blind in judgement and merciless in consequence. If you do not mind I would like to meditate here a moment. You all should go and free the slaves. Leave the animals and beasts to me, they are still dangerous if you do not know how to communicate with them.”

Kit placed his hands on the stone in front of him and the swirling, vine-like verdant energy flowed down his arms and into the ground and slowly moss grew from the stone beneath him. The energy faded and Kit settled in to meditate as the others left. 

* * *

It was nearly an hour later that the Nein returned to the cavern.

“Alright, we’ve searched this place from top to bottom and gotten everyone we can out,” Beau announced, disregarding the fact that Kit still appeared to be deep in meditation. 

Despite this, Kit didn’t so much as twitch at her voice before he rose smoothly to his feet, “I am surprised you did not leave already, you have no more reason to stay?” He turned to face them, curious. 

“Well we considered it,” Nott muttered, “ _ but  _ we also know you’re not gonna leave till the big boss gets back so you can kill her too, and who  _ knows  _ how many dudes she’s got with her!? Last time we went unprepared into a situation like  _ that _ …'' She trailed off, “Doesn’t matter! Point is we’re staying to make sure you don’t  _ die. _ ”

Kit blinked at them for a moment, “You… do not have to do this. Surely you have business elsewhere, your mission was to clear out this den and it is done, you could leave and collect your pay and be on your way? Why do you care whether I succeed in this fight or not?”

Caduceus was taken aback by the fact that Kit seemed genuinely confused.

“Because we don’t tolerate robbing people of their freedom,” Fjord answered, “Because unlike  _ those  _ fucks, we  _ care _ about other people beyond what they can do for us. Did people in your tribe not care for each other? You and your Mother certainly seemed close…”

“I…” Kit sighed, “No my tribe was very… close. We were a very closely knit community, everyone took care of everyone. I suppose it has just been… a long time…”

Fjord laid a hand on his shoulder and this time Kit did not flinch away. 

A moment passed and Kit stepped away, “I will release the animals held captive, and then we can leave, and go to the camp outside,  _ she  _ will likely pass through there before coming here, it will be best to ambush her there.”

“Why don’t you tell us more about your tribe?” Caduceus asked as they walked, “You care a great deal for them.”

Kit nodded, “What would you like to know?”

“What was it like being raised by them?” Beau asked curiously.

“It was… nice. There were other children, ones that did not rub dirt in my hair like the ones in my birth home. We were raised by the community, no child was raised only by their birth parents, and in the same ceremony that they take their first shape, they choose their own names and their own families. Some keep both of what they were born with, some do not. We are raised knowing that  _ family  _ is more than blood. It is a choice. What may be right for one may be wrong for another.”

“Did you pick the name Kit?” Jester wondered, “Cause like…  _ a baby fox is a kit and you turn into a fox so….” _ She whispered conspiratorially.

Kit chuckled, “No, Mother gave me the name Kitori. For a long time I was just called Fox. It was how they found me. Since I had been found in my shape, part of my age ceremony would be missing, so instead of taking a shape, the Mother I chose named me. Kit for ‘young’ and ori for ‘strong’. I have been Kit, for short, ever since.”

It took about an hour for Kit to release the creatures caged in the arena, healing them as he was able and as soon as the last of the animals had fled he turned to the others, “Now, let us get out of this place and make camp in the fortress.”

They traveled in relative silence and it was dark by the time they reached the small fortress. Caduceus made a quick dinner, a vegetable stew, to which he added some chunks of meat after he separated some for himself and Kit. The group ate in silence, tired after all of the travel and fighting they’d done that day. Before long the dome was up and Kit hesitated to enter. 

“I… think I will sleep outside tonight…” He said carefully, stepping away from the dome and picking a spot of soft grass nearby. 

He did not escape the nightmares that night. 

Darkness and fog and the suffocating feeling of being separated from his connection to the land. It had always been there ever since he was a child and now it was  _ gone  _ and the spot where it should have been was a yawing pit of suffocating darkness. Darkness and irons on his wrists and on his neck. Choking him, pulling him in whatever direction they pleased. The fog in his mind. Suffocating his thoughts. It was like watching as someone that was not him took control of his body. That was closer to the truth than Kit was comfortable with. None of it was comfortable. Pain across his shoulders as he hesitated, somehow  _ knowing  _ the  _ wrongness _ of the metal in his hands. Then the fog was back and he continued like a puppet on strings. 

A pit. The collar was gone. Replaced by a blind rage and a thirst for  _ blood _ he had never experienced. He watched himself take the Shape of a bear and tear other slaves to pieces as the slavers on the wall laughed and jeered and cheered. And then the yawing pit of darkness and emptiness was back.  _ No escape. No escape. Slave. Weak. Tool. Worthless.  _

_ Pain and use that he did not want and choices that were not choices and pain and suffer and pain and- He did not want this. He did not want it and his mouth and throat would not work and he could not say  _ **_no_ ** _. Hands on his throat and claws in his back and a vice on his lungs.  _ **_And he could not say no why could he not say no?!_ **

_ And use and pain and suffer and- _

* * *

It was three days before the caravan of slavers appeared. In that time, Kit rarely moved from the spot he had chosen as his watch post, except to take the Shape of a bird and scout ahead. He is a falcon when he spots them and glides back to the fortress to warn the others and get ready. 

He stood in front of the gate, cloak over his left shoulder, staff planted firmly, chin up, back straight. He will not be moved. He would be like the Earth, he would not lean or bend, an unmovable object. He would be like the Wind, quick and decisive, an unstoppable force. Like the Fire, angry and fierce and unpredictable. Like the Ocean, strong, powerful and destructive. 

Ten of them, spread between two carts and five horses. There is a slim female white dragonborn on the lead horse. 

Nott took her place on the wall, crossbow ready. The gate was open, the others hiding behind the wall, waiting to join the fight when it began. 

Kit planted his staff as the dragonborn woman signaled the caravan to a stop and a clap of Thunder followed, sky darkening with storm clouds as wind ripped around Kit, his eyes glowing with his magic. 

Jester used Thaumaturgy to amplify his voice. 

“This land does not belong to you!” Kit bellowed, Thunder punctuating his words, then he spoke softer, a threatening growl still heard over the howling wind, “I told you I would return to you the damage you have wrought here.” A bolt of lightning struck as Kit motioned with his staff and the two slavers driving the lead cart screamed and toppled over and didn’t get up. 

The horses attached to the cart screamed and ran in terror. Apparently the bolt had been enough to destroy the hitch that attached them to it. The dragonborn scowled, sawing at her reins to control her own horse as the animals panicked. 

Slowly the slavers gained control of their horses and Kit waited. Met the glare of the dragonborn woman with an impassive stare of his own. He would not let them whittle him down to an animalistic terror again. Kit planted his staff and lightning struck again, this time, the slavers driving the second cart. They dived out of the way. One of them stood, armor slightly singed. Kit could not see the other. 

The Nien filtered out to stand behind him and Nott fired two shots. One struck the injured slaver, the other hit a guard. Three down, one injured, one unaccounted for. It was an even fight now. Jester and Caduceus cast their spiritual guardians, Caleb prepared a spinning ball of fire between his hands, Yasha’s eyes flashed with rage, Fjord prepared his blade and a volley of eldritch energy, and Beau prepared to jump into the fight headlong at the first opportunity. Kit turned into a massive white tiger and roared angrily. 

He lunged forward and leaped to tackle her from her horse. The horse sprinted away after the others that had already fled in terror and the dragonborn snarled back at him and pushed him off of her with a pulse of magic. Kit’s tail lashed angrily through the air as he angled himself and bared his teeth and claws, ears pinned back, eyes sharp with fury. 

The other slavers dismount, sneering at the party facing them. The Nein leaped into action to keep them back and away from where Kit was now in a fierce combat with the dragonborn. 

Kit lunged and slashed with claws and the woman dodged to the right and brought down a wicked looking whip across the tiger’s shoulders. Kit whirled around with a roar and lunged to attack again. His claws connected this time, shredding through the meager armor of someone who primarily fought at a distance with magic. The storm overhead continued to swirl violently, the arcing potential of lightning sparking across the clouds, thunder rumbling in the distance as they fought. 

These slavers were not as easy to kill as the ones that had guarded the mines. The fight went on for several minutes, the Nein sustained by their clerics. 

The dragonborn yelled thunderously in frustration and Kit was blasted by a wave damaging ice and cold. His Shape faded and Kit knelt, breathing heavily. She followed the attack up quickly with a strike of the bladed whip. He caught the whip around his staff and twisted, tapping one end on the ground and shouting the Druidic incantation for shillelagh. The verdant green energy flashed in his eyes and down his arms and through the staff as he straightened and wrapped the whip further along his staff, getting close into the woman’s space before bringing one end down on her head and releasing her whip to take another attack, swinging wide and high.

He didn’t see the flash of steel before it was buried in his gut. He only felt the breath-stealing impact of the blade, and the tearing, searing pain as she twisted it and his vision blurred as he choked on iron and the glow faded from his staff as it slipped from his fingers, but the storm clouds remained as she grabbed him by the throat.

The others were shouting, but the noise was bleeding together into something he couldn’t understand. He reached up and clawed at the hand holding him by the throat and looked up. Lightning flashed through the clouds and his face hardened as he looked back at the dragonborn. 

He grabbed her wrist in both hands and the wind ripped around them as he dug his fingers in. His eyes flashed with magic and lightning struck her, coursing through the both of them as the last of the slavers were cut down by the Nein.

They collapsed to their sides in opposite directions.


End file.
